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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker is drawn to the forest but feels bound by promises and a long journey ahead.
In plain terms
He loves the woods but must keep his commitments and keep moving.
What can you take from it?
Balance desire with responsibility.

Where it applies

  • choosing between leisure and work
  • traveling while having obligations

Putting it to work

  • schedule time for rest
  • honor obligations before indulgence

Questions to consider

  • How do you prioritize duties over pleasures?
  • What promises keep you moving forward?

Another view

Repeating the line may reduce its impact.

More from Robert Frost

  1. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

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  2. It should be of the pleasure of a poem itself to tell how it can. The figure a poem makes. It begins in delight and ends in wisdom. The figure is the same for …

    Permalink to quote #106
  3. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

    Permalink to quote #103

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